By Brooke Cunningham
I was disheartened and dismayed by the In My View last week on adopting dogs here in Vermont. The people who adopt here in The Valley through Vermont Dog Rescue are people who are looking to give a dog a home, not start a puppy mill. The suggestion is ludicrous, especially in that whenever possible the dogs come north already spayed or neutered. If they haven’t been, it is part of the adoption process that they must be when they are old enough for it. Pretty hard to start a puppy mill that way.
I have two rescue dogs myself and I can say from experience that adopters are very thoroughly checked out before being allowed to have one of the dogs. You have to give references; they might come by your house and look at the conditions of the house and yard if they don’t know you. Around here, we know each other pretty well, so often that is not necessary. But they do always ask for names of friends of the adopter that they can talk to about how that person treats a dog. They ask questions about whether you like to take your dog with you in the car when you run errands and how long your dog might be home alone due to your work schedule and they try to make a good fit based on the adopters’ life. This is not a casual process; the objective is to make a good pairing and a happy life for both parties.
The people who adopt a dog through Vermont Dog Rescue are people who want a dog at home. Rather than buy one from a breeder or a pet store, they feel good about providing love and shelter to a dog whose only crime is that for whatever reason he/she has been abandoned. These kind people know that they are saving a life and reward most of the time is the loving companionship of a dog who knows how lucky he or she is and, believe me, the dogs do know that. They have seen the worst, many nearly died from it, and they are grateful creatures.
What Carole Moore, Carole Crossman and many others are doing is removing dogs from the deplorable conditions that they suffer with at kill shelters down south and “fostering” them in their houses and the homes of other volunteers until they find a good “forever home” for the animal.
Generally the dogs come north with shots and certificates of spay, but if they are too young for spaying, malnourished or injured this group of volunteers helps with that too.
There is an MRVTV/Channel 44 show that runs pretty much monthly which talks about the process of becoming a “foster” for a dog or adopting a dog. They usually introduce a few dogs that are here or coming north so that anyone thinking of getting a dog can think it over. I would encourage you to take a look, or talk to either of the Caroles.
I love my dogs, they love me and we have an active, interesting and fun life together. They show me all day every day how much they appreciate that.
Cunningham, and her dogs Nataly (age 15) and Beanie (age 3), live in Waitsfield.
